ID: 33568
For decades, National Geographic Education has translated the work of Explorers, storytellers, educators and community leaders, into classroom-ready resources, reaching millions of educators and learners worldwide. But like many institutions, we found ourselves “making camp”: Publishing high-quality content that was widely accessed, yet largely static. Difficult to adapt, remix, or meaningfully co-own across contexts.
This session explores what it takes to move from that campsite to a true commons.
In partnership with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), we are building the PowerED by National Geographic Society Hub on OER Commons: Not just as a repository, but as a participatory ecosystem. This shift is not primarily technical; it is cultural. It asks: Who builds knowledge? Who adapts it? Who owns it?
At the center of this work is a reimagining of authorship. National Geographic Explorers are no longer only sources of expertise; they are co-creators alongside educators and, increasingly, learners. Together, they design open educational resources that are intended to be adapted: across geographies, cultures, and learning environments. An Explorer’s fieldwork becomes not a finished product, but a starting point for collective knowledge-building.
We will share key strategies that have supported this transition from publishing to shared ownership:
- Designing modular OER templates that invite remix, localization, and reinterpretation
- Building capacity through an OER Fundamentals Academy, where educators learn to license, adapt, and publish their own work
- Using platform analytics (e.g., remixing, downloads, global participation) to understand how knowledge moves and evolves
- Creating feedback loops that position educators and communities as contributors—not just consumers
Participants will engage with real examples from the hub, including co-created lessons on topics such as volcanism and cultural storytelling, and see how these resources evolve as they are remixed and recontextualized. We will also share early insights from our academy model, where participants reported increased confidence in contributing to OER and a stronger sense of belonging within a global knowledge community.
Ultimately, this session invites a shift in perspective: What if open education is not a collection of resources, but a shared space we build and rebuild together?
